Stepping Forward

The Como Brothers

Baby Steps

Bandcamp

31st August 2013

After the strong initial releases “The Speed of Sound” (2012) and “Still Waters” (2013), Long Island siblings Matt and Andrew Como release their first full length album this summer and I am grateful to the brothers for sending me a review copy.

And very good it is too.

The first single from the album “Straight Face” has also been released on You Tube.

What I like about this band is their effortless blending of pop sensibilities with blues, rock and soul. Indeed they remind me of the first couple of Hall and Oates albums (you know – the good ones before they went off the boil). They also are good at writing songs – lyrics with a sense of purpose, hook laden tunes, great arrangements and quality vocals.

In these days of disposable pop The Como’s manage to transcend the “listen once and file it on the hard disc” mentality of so much of current music. This is pop you’ll want to keep playing.

I have no doubt that a number of my friends in the music biz will be scratching my head at my appreciation of this music, with my predilection for the more extreme ends of sonic output. However, I am also a sucker for a good tune, and the best of the history of pop, Matt and Andrew are able to encapsulate quality music with a sense of joy and freshness which echoes back to classic chart songs but retaining a modern and forward looking feel.

The lead track, available on I-Tunes, as embedded above, demonstrates the breadth of the band’s output with it’s blue eyed soul and tasty soprano sax fills – the next release “Late Nights”, which will be the second single and is released in two weeks, has more “rock” in it. The more laid back “Hang My Head” dips into country and western before resolving into a delicious hook and chorus. “Honestly” has a delightful melody, and is pure aural gold. “Hey Kristen” has another one of those choruses that will stay in your head for days.

Stand out track for me is the excellent “Chasing Ambience” which is soulful and moody and sums up all that is good about the band.

The album closes with “Bad Karma” which was on the Still Waters EP, and is another memorable tune, and will be a featured track on this week’s Aural Delights Podcast.

An excellent debut album and lovers of melodic pop/blues/rock with a hint of soul will appreciate it.